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Monday, November 26, 2012

I generally am not a muffin person. I don’t know why. I just
prefer cookies. Or the occasional cake. Or, mmmm… ice cream. Or cheesecake…yum!
Okay getting side tracked. Anyway, during my recent vacation I had an extra
zucchini lying around (who doesn’t) and decided that zucchini muffins were the
way to go. And not just plain old zucchini, but chocolate chocolate chip
zucchini. I found the recipe on From Ketchup to Chutney and they turned out
pretty good. I may have overbaked them just slightly because they weren’t as
moist as I would like, but still very tasty. And for anyone worried, you don’t
taste the zucchini at all.

I did make a few tiny adjustments. The original recipe
called for half wheat flour and half all-purpose flour and I just used AP flour
for the whole thing. It also called for plain yogurt and I used plain Greek
yogurt since I had some. One little thing that threw me was the orange zest. In
the future, I might leave it out. I’m not a big fan of chocolate and citrus,
and the orange smell was definitely prevalent the first day. However it did
dissipate after that first day, so maybe it’s fine. If you do like the
citrus-chocolate combination, by all means, leave it in. The recipe also said
that it only made 24 mini-muffins but it made almost three times that.

Start by preheating the oven to 375 degrees. Either line
your muffin tins or spray them with Pam. In a large bowl, beat or whisk
together the sugar, oil and vanilla, then beat in one egg at a time until
smooth, followed by the yogurt. Stir in the citrus zest and the grated
zucchini.

I usually don’t advocate separate bowls for wet and dry
ingredients, but for this recipe I would make an exception. So in a separate
bowl stir together your dry ingredients: flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt and
cinnamon. Make sure they are mixed thoroughly. Add half the dry mixture to the
wet mixture and stir (by hand, not mixer!) until it’s just mixed, before adding
the rest. You don’t want to overmix, so just make sure that it’s all
incorporated and that’s it. Add in your chocolate chips and stir briefly.

Fill your muffin cups three quarters full and bake. I made
mini muffins so I baked each batch about 13 minutes. If I did it again I might
try a batch at 11 minutes and see if they are any more moist. Full size muffins
cook for 15-20 minutes.

I think my favorite part of making these was giving some to
a couple male friends (mostly for them to take to their families). I didn’t
think zucchini was such a weird ingredient but they both balked and said, “Chocolate
chip—what?” Later one of them referred to the muffins as “Rutabaga-asparagus or
something.” So I guess as long as your guests or kids aren’t as picky as those
two, you’ll be set.

There’s a great little Mexican place in Richmond called Tio
Pablo. It’s relatively new and since it’s tucked away down in Shockoe Bottom,
it’s somewhat unknown. I ate there with a friend for lunch recently and judging
by the really delicious flavors, it won’t be unknown for long. One of the tacos
I had was the al Pastor, which is basically spicy pork with pineapples. Pairing
the spiciness of the pork marinade with the sweetness of the pineapple was a
truly wonderful combination, so I decided to try it at home.

I found the recipe on this beautiful site called I Am A FoodBlog. It’s a very simple recipe but one of the ingredients, the achiote paste,
was difficult to find. I expect you could get it at a Hispanic focused grocery.
We found a (completely inauthentic) substitute recipe made from things you
probably already have at home, and it turned out fantastic. It had tons of flavor,
it’s bright and colorful, and pretty easy to make, considering. The only thing
that we felt was missing was a little bit of Mexican Crema to cool it down a
little. If you don’t like very spicy food, I would cut down on the chipotle
chiles.

3 1/2 ounce package achiote paste (or the substitute below)

3 canned chipotle chiles en adobo, plus 4 tablespoons
canning sauce

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1.5 pounds thinly sliced pork shoulder

1 cup pineapple chunks, drained

diced onion

chopped cilantro

taco tortillas

Combine your achiote paste, chipotles, adobo sauce, and
vegetable oil in a food processor or blender. As I’m re-reading the recipe I
realize that they also added ¾ cup of water, but I missed that. It turned out
great without the water, so I personally would just leave it out. Maybe if you
want to dilute the spiciness a little it would help, though. Blend this all up
and pour over your sliced pork in a bowl or a baggie to marinate for at least
an hour. We let it marinate for about 3 hours.

If you can’t find the achiote paste this is the substitute
we used. Like I said above, I’m positive that this is not authentic because it
doesn’t use annatto seeds. However, if you can’t find the paste, I think
finding annatto seeds will also be a challenge. This substitute uses
ingredients you already have around the house. Just blend these ingredients
together first, then follow the directions above.

Achiote Substitute

3 cloves garlic

1 Tbsp. vegetable oil

2 Tbsps. white vinegar

3 Tbsps. paprika

1 ½ Tsps. dried oregano

½ Tsp. ground cumin

To cook the pork, heat up a little oil in a cast iron
skillet over medium high heat. You want it to be hot, but not so hot that it
smokes up your entire kitchen. Believe me, we did that and this spicy marinade
is not so pleasant to breath into your lungs so be careful. Grill the meat in
small batches until they are cooked and have a nice char on them. If you’ve
sliced them thinly enough it shouldn’t take much more than a minute per side.
Set them aside while you grill the pineapple in the same pan. They’ll get some
of the marinade flavor on them from the pan. Just brown them up; it should only
take a few minutes. Spoon pork and pineapple into your warm tortillas and top
with the chopped red onions and cilantro. I also added about a tablespoon of
the pineapple juice into the onion and cilantro to make more of a fresh salsa. I
think some sour cream or Mexican crema would be a great added flavor as well.
Try these, and then hit up Tio Pablo and try some of their other wonderful
tacos as well!

Sunday, November 25, 2012

My all-time favorite Thanksgiving meal is not Turkey, not mashed potatoes, nor is it stuffing. It's sweet potato casserole. Yes, as a child I did not like this dish either. I seriously was missing out especially since there's a yummy sweetness to it. I found this recipe about 10 years ago, and I've been making it ever since. If you don't like coconut flakes, you can omit those, but I think it goes great with the casserole. I was at Thanksgiving lunch at a friend's house, and her 5 year-old niece refused to try the sweet potatoes. I could certainly empathize with her, but I thought to myself; oh, one day you will realize how silly you were to not give it a shot. Enjoy!!

Continuing with the dessert theme; I made a Pecan Pie for Thanksgiving dinner for my dad and I. Now, I wasn't always a big Thanksgiving dessert fan. Throughout the years, my families dessert menu consisted of Pumpkin pie (yuck), Apple pie,(double-yuck), and Pecan Pie. Growing up, I'm not sure I even ate dessert after our dinner. I've never been a fan of cooked apples, didn't care for the taste of pumpkin pie, and I don't think I even tried pecan pie. Eventually, I came around, and even though I still don't like cooked apples; I'm definitely a fan of Pecan and Pumpkin pies. This recipe is similar to the one my mother baked for our traditional Thanksgiving dinners. The recipe is from Joy of Cooking and the crust is from Cook's Illustrated. Unfortunately, I tad over-cooked the pie, but it still tasted great! If you want a traditional pie for Thanksgiving then I definitely recommend this Pecan Pie recipe. Enjoy!

For the Pie Crust
To make the pie crust, process the flour, sugar, and salt together in a food processor until combined. Scatter shortening on top and process until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal, about 10 seconds. Scatter butter over top and pulse mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs, about 10 pulses.
Transfer the mixture into a medium bowl and sprinkle 4 tbsp of the ice water over the mixture. Stir and press the dough together until it sticks together. If dough doesn't come together then add more water a tablespoon at a time until it does.
Get out a plastic sheet, and turn the dough unto the plastic sheet and flatten into a 4-inch disk. Wrap tightly and then refrigerate for about an hour. Before rolling out the dough, let it sit on the counter for 10 minutes. (Dough can be wrapped tightly in plastic and refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen for up to 1 month. If frozen, let dough thaw completely on counter before rolling it out.)
Adjust oven rack to the middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Roll dough into 12-inch circle on lightly floured surface. Loosely roll dough around rolling pin and gently unroll it onto 9-inch pie plate, letting excess dough hang over the edge. Ease dough into plate by gently lifting edge of dough with one hand while pressing into the bottom with the other hand. Leave any dough that overhangs plate in place. Trim overhang to 1/2 inch beyond the lip of the pie plate. Tuck overhang under itself; folded edge should be flush with edge of pie plate. Crimp dough evenly around edge of pie using your fingers. Wrap dough-lined pie plate loosely in plastic and place in your freezer until the dough is fully chilled and firm, about 30 minutes, before using. Once pie is fully chilled, remove from the freezer and poke some holes into the dough using a fork. This will help it to not bubble up while cooking. Cook the pie for about 5 to 8 minutes. It will be fully cooked once the filling is poured into it. Remove pie from the oven and let cool for about 5 minutes. Then, we'll add in the filling and cook for an additional 45 minutes.

For the filling:
Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2-5 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Stir in the light corn syrup, vanilla, and salt. Fill the partially baked pie shell. Cover the edge of the pie plate with foil, so that the outer pie crust doesn't burn. I wish I had done this because my crust burned. The Joy of Cooking cookbook says to turn the oven up to 450 degrees, but I felt that was a bit too warm. I would set it to 425, instead. Let bake for 40 minutes until a knife comes out clean when inserted into the filling. Enjoy!

Saturday, November 24, 2012

If there's one dessert that always hits the spot it's chocolate chip cookies. I posted this chocolate chip cookie recipe more than a year ago, which is absolutely fabulous, but you have to wait till the next day before you can eat them. However, these thin and crispy chocolate chip cookies are great if you want to satisfy that craving now! I found this recipe in my handy Cook's Illustrated cookbook. These cookies remind me of the ones my Grandma use to bake and then freeze. Their thin, crispy, and would taste great frozen or at room temperature. My grandma always froze her cookies, and I always knew to check the freezer for those goodies. I doubt she noticed a couple were missing. ;)
Enjoy!

First, adjust your oven to the middle rack position and set your oven to 375 degrees. Then, line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Now, whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl and set aside. Take the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat the melted butter, the sugars, and corn syrup on low speed until thoroughly blended, about 1 minute. Then add in the egg yolk, milk, and vanilla; mix until fully incorporated and smooth, about another minute. With mixer running on low, slowly add the flour mixture and mix until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips. Working with 1 tablespoon of dough at a time, roll into balls, and place 2 inches apart on baking sheets. Bake until the cookies are a deep golden brown and flat, about 10-12 minutes. Rotate the baking sheet halfway thru to ensure even baking. Let cookies cool on baking sheet for about 3 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.

Monday, November 19, 2012

This was adapted from my favorite recipe website www.skinnytaste.com which means it’s the perfect combination of warm comfort food and low calories. I actually don’t like sweet potatoes but the chicken broth, garlic and sour cream gave the potato topping a creamy savory flavor that was simply delicious.

Monday, November 12, 2012

So here goes my one post, every six months? Maybe not even that frequently? I'm so thankful I get to be a part of this awesome blog despite my infrequent posts. I look to this blog for new recipes and if I want to try something different, so it's very convenient.Okay, so I have officially moved OUT of the in-laws and into my own apartment. That means I have my own kitchen, and I am so excited to be able to start cooking up a storm. Since the temperatures outside dropped for a bit, I thought a nice soup for dinner would be a great idea, and I have never made any kind of soup before. In trying to figure out what kind of soup I could make with ingredients I already had, french onion soup came to mind. I already had onions, wine, cheese, and bread. Not to mention Joe loves french onion soup. This recipe from Food Network is what I chose to go by, and there was some as-I-go changes and adjustments because the time frames listed in the recipe were completely inaccurate. Well, at least they were for me. It definitely did not take 25 minutes to caramelize the onions, and it took way more than 5 minutes to evaporate the wine. Whoever wrote the instructions to this soup probably should revamp it. So here goes what I actually did, and it turned out pretty tasty!

In a large pot, melt a stick of butter. As the butter melts and warms up, slice all your onions and chop up garlic. You can make your onions as big or as small as you want for the soup. I sliced some onions and chopped some just for the fun of it. Saute your onions until they caramelize in the butter with garlic, bay leaves, thyme, and salt and pepper to taste. This took me about 15 minutes or so. Add the wine, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until wine has evaporated. The original recipe said 5 minutes, but this took about another 15 minutes. I could have very well not had the heat high enough, but what I did worked out just fine. Once the wine has mostly evaporated remove bay leaves and fresh thyme, add flour and stir. Cook for about five more minutes. Pour all of the broth into the pot and bring to a boil stirring occasionally. Reduce heat and simmer for an additional 10 minutes. I didn't add any more salt and pepper because the broth had plenty of salt. For a little different twist, I cut the baguette into cubes, toasted them in a pan with butter to make croutons. To serve, ladle soup into a bowl, drop a handful of shredded Swiss cheese into soup (or more handfuls of cheese if you so desire) and float croutons on top. Voila! Yummy french onion soup. Just beware your entire house will smell like onions for at least a day - consider opening a window or lighting candles.

Saturday, November 10, 2012

Well, I just made this recipe tonight, and I have to say it's definitely a keeper. I've been on a bit of an Asian kick lately. I think ever since I tried Peter Chang's restaurant this summer I've been inspired. I wasn't necessarily looking for an Asian-inspired recipe, though. Really, I was looking for a new chicken tenders recipe. Well, I went to the tried and true Tastespotting website, entered chicken in the search engine, and came across this recipe for Lighter Sesame Chicken. I kicked it up a notch by adding a tsp of sesame oil, a tsp of red pepper flakes, and a dash of cayenne pepper. I didn't have broccoli nor onions, but I didn't notice. It was really, really good. I practically licked my plate, and that's saying a lot. It's healthy and delicious. Give it a whirl and I bet you will love it, too. Enjoy!

First, take out a medium-sized bowl and combine the red pepper flakes, sesame oil, cayenne pepper, honey, sesame seeds, soy sauce, and garlic. Stir well and set aside. Take out your chicken pieces and season with salt and pepper. Take out a medium-sized bowl and combine the egg white and cornstarch. Stir well. Toss the chicken pieces into the corn starch mixture. Get out your sautee pan and add the oil and set the heat to about medium to medium-high. At this point if you are making rice; I would get this going. Add the chicken pieces to the sautee pan and cook both sides for about 5 to 10 minutes. Once the chicken is cook thru; remove the pan from the heat and add some of the prepared sauce and the green onions if using. If using the broccoli; be sure to steam in a saucepan until crisp and tender. Then, add the broccoli to the chicken mixture. Spoon some of the remaining sauce over your rice and add chicken on top. Enjoy!

Friday, November 9, 2012

Growing up I wasn’t the biggest fan of lasagna. I thought it
was just okay, but it wasn’t something I craved. I think the ricotta cheese was
something I didn’t enjoy. For me; it was a bit too tangy. Maybe if it had more
cheese in it than ricotta I would have enjoyed it more. Fast-forward 20 years
later; and I have become a big fan of lasagna. I think the reason for this is
now I can look for my own recipes and try them myself. Plus, I can add a ton of
cheese if I so desire. Well, a while back I came across this recipe.

It had great reviews, and though the recipe seemed a bit daunting with all the ingredients;I was eager to give it a whirl. I’m really glad I did. It’s probably the best lasagna I’ve ever had. You make your own meat sauce, it has a ton of cheese
(and, yes, even ricotta), and it makes a ton of it. I made this the other
night; and my Dad raved that it’s one of the best things he’s ever had even in
restaurants. So, go make it and you will not regret it one bit. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 lb. sweet Italian Sausage (or just regular Italian sausage)

3/4 lb. lean ground beef

½ cup minced onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes

2 (6 oz) cans tomato paste

2 (6 oz) cans tomato sauce

½ cup water

2 tbsp white sugar

1 ½ tsp dried basil leaves

½ tsp fennel seeds

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1 tbsp salt

¼ tsp ground black pepper

4 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

12 lasagna noodles

16 oz ricotta cheese

1 egg

½ tsp salt

¾ lb. mozzarella cheese

¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese

First, get out your Dutch oven or large pot; and sauté the ground beef,
sausage, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned. Next, stir in
the tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, and water. Then, season with
the sugar, basil, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and 2 tbsp of
the parsley. Simmer, covered, for about an hour and a half. Stir occasionally.

About an hour and fifteen minutes into the sauce simmering; take out a
large pot and pour water and a little salt to cook the noodles in. Bring to a
boil and cook the lasagna noodles for about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain noodles and
rinse with cold water. Set aside.

Get out a 9x13 baking dish and pour 1 ½ cups of the meat sauce into the
bottom of the dish. Spread the meat sauce. Next, arrange 6 of the noodles
lengthwise across the meat sauce and spread half the ricotta mixture over the
noodles, evenly. Top with a third of the mozzarella slices and then spoon 1 ½
cups of the meat sauce over the mozzarella and sprinkle ¼ cup of the Parmesan
cheese. Repeat the layers, and top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan
cheeses. Take some foil out to cover the baking dish; but first spray the foil
with cooking spray so the cheese does not stick. Bake in the oven for 25
minutes. Then, remove the foil and bake for an additional 25 minutes. Cool for
15 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Thursday, November 8, 2012

I’m a sucker for chicken cooked in a killer sauce and served
over rice. If you check out my past recipes, that’s definitely a theme. So I
figured this recipe would be right up my culinary alley. It turned out… fine. A
little sweet for my tastes, but I know there are people who love that. The
comments on the blog where I found this, The Ravenous Couple, were
nothing but raves, so maybe it was the fact that we couldn’t get our chicken to
caramelize that made us miss out on some flavor. Anyway, this isn’t going to go
into regular rotation for us, but if you like a sweet, flavorful sauce, then
this might be the one for you!

4-6 chicken thighs (boneless, skinless)

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup soy sauce

1/3 cup rice vinegar

1/3 cup water

4 cloves of crushed garlic

2 tbs chopped ginger or lemongrass

1 large shallot minced

2 tbs soy sauce for marinade

1 tbs brown sugar for marinade

2-3 serrano chiles

2 green onions, sliced

fresh cracked pepper

2 tbs cooking oil

Start by marinating the chicken with 2 tablespoons of soy
sauce and 1 tablespoon of brown sugar. The original recipe called for fish
sauce, but as my husband so delicately put it, “It smells like feet.” Soy sauce
is a good substitute, but go ahead use fish sauce if you know you like it.
Marinate for a half hour at least.

In the meantime, you can make your sauce in a small bowl.
Combine the brown sugar, soy sauce (or fish sauce), rice vinegar and water and
stir until the sugar dissolves. Add in the shallot, garlic, and ginger and stir
before setting aside.

Heat oil in a large pan and put in the chicken with the
meatier side of the thigh facing down. This is where the original recipe wanted
you to get some good caramelization, but it just didn’t work for us. Maybe
because we have a nonstick pan? Anyway, allow it to sear without touching or
moving the chicken for a minute or two and then pour in a quarter of the sauce.
You’ll want to leave the chicken alone, again so that it gets a good sear on it
(hopefully).

Cook for just a few minutes and check the chicken to see if
it’s caramelized, or at least just nice and browned. Then you can turn it over
and add the rest of the sauce. I also added in the chiles here because I wanted
them to cook a little, although the recipe called to add them at the end. Top
with cracked black pepper and serve over rice. The sauce will thicken even more
once it is off the heat, and you definitely want the rice to soak it up. Like I
said, it was very flavorful, just a little sweet for my tastes maybe.

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

When I was about 23 years old; I went to Vero Beach, Florida
to visit my Aunt and Uncle. My cousin met me out there and we had a wonderful
time. It was a lot of firsts for me during that trip. I went on my first boat
ride, ate my first sushi, tried crab legs for the first time; saw my cousin in
a play for the first time, etc. Eating brownies that my aunt had made wasn’t
necessarily a first, but these brownies were to die for. They’re appropriately
called Palm Beach Brownies. They have a crunchy outer crust and a soft inner
layer. They are really good. I loved them so much that she gave me the recipe
and I’ve been making them ever since. Hopefully, you’ll enjoy them, too!

First, adjust your rack 1/3 from the bottom of the oven and
preheat to 425 degrees. Next, take a 9x13 baking pan; turn it over and cover it
with a piece of aluminum foil and press down the foil around sides of the pan
using your hands. Remove the foil and turn the pan over then press the foil
into the pan. Spray the foil with cooking spray.

Take a small saucepan and place over a large saucepan filled
about ¼ of the way with water, then melt the butter and unsweetened chocolate
over medium heat. Stir occasionally to help melt the chocolate and butter. Once
melted removed the chocolate mixture from the heat and set aside to let cool.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the eggs, vanilla
extract, almond extract, salt, dry instant espresso or coffee, and sugar at
high speed for 10 minutes. Turn the speed down to low and add in the chocolate
mixture. Beat only till just mixed. Next, add in the flour and beat only till
just mixed. Remove the bowl from the mixer and stir in the nuts, if using.

Pour the brownie mixture into your prepared baking pan and
smooth the top. Bake for 15 minutes and then turn the pan to ensure even
baking. Bake for an additional 10 minutes. If you insert a toothpick into the
brownies it will come out wet even so it is done. Remove the brownies from the
oven and let cool. Carefully, remove the brownie from the pan by lifting the
foil. Cover with foil and refrigerate for several hours or leave it at room
temperature over night. Use a serrated bread knife to cut into the brownies as
they will be very sticky. Wrap brownies individually with foil or seal in an
air tight container separating each layer with wax paper.

Welcome to The Dinner Club

Here's what's cooking in (a few) kitchens here in Richmond, Virginia. We're not chefs, not by a long shot. But we do like to cook. We like to try new recipes. And we really like to eat.

The Dinner Club is a place to share recipes and our experiences as we make them. The tried and true, the brand new and the recipes we invent ourselves. We'll share tips and tricks along the way: what went well, what went wrong, and what we might try the next time (if there is a next time).